Dillon Brooks scored a season-high 28 points and Tari Eason added 22 off the bench as the Houston Rockets rolled to a 116-88 victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.
Brooks shot 10 of 15 from the floor and finished 6-for-8 on 3-pointers, leading Houston to its seventh win in its past eight games. The Rockets improved to 2-0 and the Trail Blazers are 1-1 in West Group A of the NBA Cup.
Eason added eight rebounds and two steals in 22 minutes. Amen Thompson had 10 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Jalen Green tallied 17 points and Alperen Sengun totaled 14 points and nine rebounds. All five Houston starters logged 30 minutes or fewer in advance of a back-to-back set with the Trail Blazers on Saturday.
Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija scored 13 points apiece for Portland, which shot 33 percent while committing 21 turnovers, which the Rockets converted into 28 points.
The Trail Blazers took advantage of the Rockets’ ragged start, darting to an 8-0 lead as Houston committed three turnovers in the first two-plus minutes of the game. But when Brooks converted a layup with 4:36 left in the opening period, the Rockets secured their first lead at 11-10. They did not relinquish the lead and extended the margin to 31-20 entering the second by closing the first quarter on an 11-3 run that featured a pair of 3-pointers by Green, who made three shots from beyond the arc in the frame.
Houston recorded seven assists on 10 field goals before the start of the second quarter. Sharpe completed a three-point play that sliced the Rockets’ lead to 51-40 with 4:10 to play in the half. Houston closed the half with a 14-5 run, which included a layup and 3-pointer from Brooks and two free throws by Green to take a 65-45 lead at the break.
After Portland sliced a 27-point deficit to 81-66 in the third, Brooks knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and Sengun added a dunk to push the Rockets’ lead to 89-66. Eason made three transition dunks bridging the first third and fourth quarters to help Houston take a 100-73 cushion.
